Edwardsville resident gets 19 years for bank robberies

Justice Department

Marcus J. Thornton, 38, of Edwardsville, was sentenced in federal court Friday to 19 years in prison for bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft said in a press release.

The sentence includes a five-year term of supervised release immediately following Thornton’s imprisonment. Thornton pleaded guilty to the charges March 22 and April 27.

Documents filed in the U.S. District Court establish that on Oct. 13, 2016, Thornton entered the Regions Bank at 107 E. Schuetz St. in Lebanon and demanded money from bank tellers. He took approximately $13,710 in U.S. currency before fleeing in a vehicle.

Thornton entered the U.S. Bank at 400 S. Lincoln Ave. in O’Fallon on Feb. 9, 2017, brandished a silver and black semi-automatic handgun, and demanded money from bank tellers. Bank tellers gave him $10,720, and he put the U.S. currency in a white plastic bag and fled in a vehicle.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Illinois State Police, and Lebanon and O’Fallon police departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel T. Kapsak and James G. Piper Jr.